Ho`okele News - March 18, 2016 (Pearl Harbor- Hickam Newspaper)

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What’s inside

USS Michael Murphy to hold third change of command today > A- 2

March 18, 2016

JBPHH to host Tsunami Awareness One-Mile Walk to Safety, April 1 > A- 7

Mentalist Craig Karges performs at Sharkey Theater >B-1

Medical Group beats Old Bulls to avenge loss >B-3

www.cnic.navy.mil/hawaii www.hookelenews.com

Volume 7 Issue 10

USS Oklahoma Sailor from World War II to be buried today at Punchbowl Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Public Affairs

The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has announced that the remains of a U.S. serviceman from World War II have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Navy Ensign Lewis S. Stockdale, 27, of Anaconda, Montana, will be buried today at 1 p.m. at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as Punchbowl, in Honolulu. On Dec. 7, 1941, Stockdale was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma suffered multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in 429 casualties, including Stockdale. USS Stockddale (DE

The USS Oklahoma Memorial is located on Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. 399) was names in his honor. Stockdale’s niece, Trudy Ritz, is among the family members planning to attend the ceremony. “I’m honored and excited,” she said. “I’ve looked forward to this day since I first learned my uncle was taken away

from me as a child. I think the whole family feels the same way.” From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries. In September 1947,

tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification

U.S. Navy photo

Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

(NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as “non-recoverable,” including Stockdale. In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma. On June 15, 2015, DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP for analysis. To identify Stockdale’s remains, scientists from DPAA used circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which matched Stockdale’s records. Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. For more information, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or call (703) 699-1420.

PMRF, USS Chafee win Secretary of Navy Environmental Awards Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) are winners of the 2015 Secretary of the Navy Environmental Award. Awardees were announced March 11 in Washington D.C. PMRF, Barking Sands, on Kauai won the award for Natural Resources (small installation) and USS Chafee (DDG 90) homeported at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam won the Afloat Environmental Award. Both PMRF and USS Chafee were recently awarded with Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Awards on Feb. 22 which qualified them to advance, compete and win at the Secretary of the Navy Award level.

U.S. Navy Photo by MC2 Gabrielle Joyner

U.S. Navy photo by MCC John M. Hageman

(Above left) The guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) returns to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam following a previous independent deployment to the Western Pacific in 2015. (Above right) A member of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) environmental program at Pacific Missile Range (PMRF) Facility, Barking Sands on Kauai, starts up the ornithology radar used to keep track of flight patterns of the Newell’s Shearwater. “These awards are the latest in a string of recognition that gives credence to our commitment to be good and caring stewards of the environment,” said Rear Adm. John Fuller, commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Sur-

face Group Middle Pacific. “I congratulate the men and women at PMRF and aboard USS Chafee, and I salute everyone on our team here in Hawaii — You are making a difference.” PMRF works with federal and state agencies,

schools, conservation organizations, the public and the host community to implement groundbreaking initiatives towards conservation, environmental protection and the protection of endangered species. Initiatives include but are not

limited to the Laysan alba- National Wildlife refuge on tross conservation program in which PMRF transfers See AWARDS page A-2 albatross eggs to Campbell

HSM-37 rescues stranded fishermen Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet Public Affairs

Sailors from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 37, the Easyriders, rescued three stranded fishermen approximately 140 nautical miles southwest of Kona about 2:30 a.m. (HST), March 11. Joint Rescue Coordination Center Hawaii received two Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) alerts from Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) on board the 41-foot commercial fishing vessel Vicious Cycle and dispatched an MH60R Seahawk helicopter from HSM-37, based at Kaneohe Bay, to assist. The Coast Guard also launched an HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point. The Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley (WMEC 39) and a fishing vessel operating in the vicinity diverted to assist. The teams found the fishermen adrift in a life raft. The HSM-37 aircrew hoisted them aboard for transport to Kalaeloa

Naval Air Crewman (Tactical Helicopter) 2nd Class Elijah Cash watches out the door of an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter attached to the Easyriders of Helicopter Maritime Squadron (HSM) 37 as they conduct flight training operations over the island of Molokai. U.S. Navy photo by MCC John M. Hageman

Airport where they were then taken to Queen’s Medical Center for evaluation. “I am extremely proud of our Easyrider team’s ability to flex from a training mission to a life-saving search and rescue,” said Cmdr. Tony Chavez, HSM-37’s commanding officer. “These events happen fast and our nation’s heroes never skip a beat when callen upon to serve.” HSM-37 is the only helicopter maritime strike squadron in the Middle

Pacific (MIDPAC) region and provides a variety of helicopter services to MIDPAC-based combatant ships and submarines in addition to deploying operational detachments. HSM-37 detachments support all Pearl Harbor-based Arleigh Burkeclass destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers throughout the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The MH-60R’s primary missions are surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare prosecution

through utilization of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and MK-46/54 torpedoes. Secondary missions include search and rescue, medical evacuation, vertical replenishment, Naval surface fire support, and communications relay, command, control, communications, and command and control warfare. U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy.

Brothers Osborne to perform March 21 at Club Pearl Joint Base Morale, Welfare and Recreation The Brothers Osborne will be performing a free concert at Club Pearl, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) on Monday, March 21. Presented by Navy Entertainment, the show will take place in the Paradise Lounge at 7:30 p.m. The country duo, consisting of brothers John and T.J., released their debut album “Pawn Shop” on Jan. 15 of this year. A song from the album, “Stay a Little Longer” reached the top of the country charts last year. The brothers were nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at last month’s Grammy Awards and were nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association last year. the Brothers Osborne are nominated for New Vocal Duo/Group of the Year and Vocal Duo of the Year, at the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards next month. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and admission is firstcome, first-served and no tickets will be issued. The concert is open to all military-affiliated Department of Defense cardholders and their guests. No video/audio recorders are authorized. Large bags or backpacks are not allowed and all purses are subject to search. No outside food or beverages is permitted, with the exception of the purchases made at the Taco Bell and Pizza Hut located in the facility. Paradise Lounge at Club Pearl is not air-conditioned. For more information, visit www.greatlifehawaii. com.


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